


The Brightest Star

by Anonymous



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: A3! Act 3 Spoilers, A3! Big Bang, A3! Big Bang 2021, Action, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Space Opera, Blood and Injury, Bombing, Character Death, Class Differences, Colonialism, Discrimination, Drama, Embedded Images, F/M, Fanart, Fighting, Giant Robots, Gundam-inspired, Guns, Human Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Itaru and Sakuya are biological brothers in this story, Kidnapping, M/M, Mecha, Memory Loss, Military, Multi, Murder, No Beta, Non-Graphic Violence, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pseudoscience, Psychological Trauma, Rebellion, Revolution, Romance isn't the focus but I tagged the relationships, Science Fiction, Space Battles, Telepathy, Terrorism, Tragedy, War, Weapons, Work In Progress, a bit of one-sided Sakyo/Izumi, but literally everyone shows up, including Act 3 characters and Ensemble Cast, space colonies, superpowers (heightened abilities), there's a lot of other non-romantic relationships but there's too many to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:14:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29851026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Only in the darkest sky does a star shine the brightest. But the brighter the star, the hotter and faster it burns.The year is 2517. Mankind has been living in colonies in outer space for centuries with the help of technology powered by blossonium—a radioactive metal discovered in Jupiter’s asteroid belt. Chafing under the oppressive military rule of the Earth-led Space Colonies Governance Council, a faction of Revolutionists puts into motion a plan to unseat the current government using four powerful weapons developed by Hakkaku Ikaruga and Yukio Tachibana.Four Bloomed individuals, humans with certain heightened abilities, are chosen to pilot these weapons under the direction of Izumi Tachibana, whose telepathic abilities are key to the Revolution’s success. However, the path to freedom is fraught with difficulties and opposing their every move is the government’s Space Colonies Defence Force and their ace Marionette pilot, “Sir Lancelot”.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru & Takatoo Tasuku, Chigasaki Itaru/Tachibana Izumi, Furuichi Sakyou & Tachibana Izumi, Hyoudou Juuza & Nanao Taichi, Rurikawa Yuki/Sumeragi Tenma, Sakuma Sakuya & Settsu Banri & Sumeragi Tenma & Tsukioka Tsumugi, Tachibana Izumi/Tsukioka Tsumugi
Kudos: 6
Collections: A3! Big Bang 2021, Anonymous





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this idea floating in my head for a long time now—born of my love of both A3! and the Gundam series (and jumpstarted by the musings of a lovely mutual)! I'm very thankful that the A3! Big Bang event gave me the opportunity and motivation to start writing this story (though I've still got a long way to go until it's complete)! 
> 
> The themes and tropes in this story are heavily inspired by the Gundam series and the level of violence, the "maturity" of the content and the questionable pseudoscience (lol) of the technology is in line with what is typical of the Gundam series. If you have any familiarity with the Gundam series, you may enjoy picking up all of the flags that get put up as the story unfolds. 
> 
> I've done my best to tag all applicable content warnings, but will add more if necessary! Feel free to drop a comment if you think I've missed something triggering! My biggest warning about my story, though, is that there will be major character deaths—this is not the happiest of stories.
> 
> But, if you will be sticking around for the ride, then I really hope you'll enjoy!

**_June 31, 2507  
_ ** **_Colony L2-4_ **

Pain. That was the first sensation she registered as her eyes fluttered open. Her whole body felt as if she had been bludgeoned, and her head was throbbing. She took a shaky breath, but her lungs immediately filled with dust instead of air and she coughed violently. 

As she finally regained control of her breathing, Izumi managed to wriggle an arm forward to wipe away the spit and phlegm from her lips. However, her right arm was the only body part that she could freely maneuver. Most of her body was trapped under a pile of rubble—probably the remains of a building’s wall—though, luckily, it appeared that she had miraculously avoided being crushed. Though stone and debris pinned her down, she could still feel all of her extremities, including a stab of excruciating pain in her left leg as she tried to wriggle it. 

Choking back a sob, she stopped moving and tried to call out.

“H-He—ack!” She choked and dissolved into another coughing fit. Once her lungs calmed down, she wetted her lips and opened her mouth again. “H-Help!! Is someone there?!”

Izumi craned her head as far out as she could and scanned her surroundings. Smoke and dust filled the air and she could see the flickering of fires nearby. Her eyes settled briefly on something sticking out of a pile of rubble—an arm, unmoving—before flinching away. Though she could make out the sounds in the distance, her immediate vicinity was quiet. 

“H-Help!! Is anyone there?!” she cried out again, though she was already losing faith. 

Dropping her face back to the cold, hard ground, she gritted her teeth together as tears pricked at her eyes—both from pain and frustration. If only she hadn’t lost sight of Sakyo. Was he looking for her? Was he… was he even alive? And what about her father? 

_S-Someone… help me… please…_ she pleaded silently, swallowing a sob as she felt another jolt of pain from her leg.

_“Where are you?”_

Izumi’s eyes shot open in shock as another voice responded inside her head. She could feel her heart begin hammering faster in her chest. 

_“You… You can hear me?”_

_“Whether I want to or not,”_ the voice responded dryly.

It must be a miracle—she had only been able to connect with someone telepathically only once before in her life. She had never been able to emulate it again, so she had thought that it had been a one-time fluke. What were the chances that it was happening again, especially now of all times, in her darkest hour?

 _“Pl-Please, can you help me? I’m trapped!”_ she pleaded, desperately latching on to the voice.

_“That’s why I asked where you were.”_

_“O-Oh. Umm… I-I don’t know,”_ she fumbled. She thought she could hear the voice sigh. Was that even possible? To sigh in your head?

_“Just do that thing again. Where you show me.”_

_“What?”_

_“It’s you, isn’t it? The lost girl. You came into my head years ago and showed me an image of where you were. Just do that again.”_

A sense of déjà vu slammed into her. Five years ago, when she was about eight years old, she had run away from home and gotten lost. Just like now, she had silently called out for help and had been answered by a voice. She hadn’t known where she was, and, in her panic, had somehow visually communicated the sight before her eyes to the person that had answered her. With that image, the owner of the voice had been able to find her and help her home.

Looking around, Izumi tried to find a landmark. She could just make out the main street a short distance away, and latched on to a large building still untouched by the carnage—it was a famous bank, identifiable by its unique façade. Screwing her brows in concentration, she focused on trying to communicate the scene in front of her eyes to the person connected to her.

_“Got it.”_

The voice went silent, and all Izumi could do was pray that they could find her. She didn’t know how many minutes passed, but eventually she heard someone shouting.

“HEY! Where are you?!” it was an actual voice this time calling out, but it was unmistakably the same one that had reached out to her earlier. 

“O-Over here!” she cried out hoarsely. 

A minute later, a teenage boy appeared in front of her, panting and covered in sweat and grime. Though he had grown since she’d last seen him, she would recognize those eyes anywhere—a deep pink that almost appeared red under the orange-dyed sky above them.

* * *

“Furuichi—we don’t have much time left,” Ichiro urged, glancing anxiously around him. “This place is gonna go anytime now, and we have civilians on board. We can’t risk staying much longer.”

“I know. Just… just let me take one more look to see if I can find her,” Sakyo replied. 

“Fine. I’ll give you ten minutes. But we _have_ to go after that,” the black-haired man sighed, knowing how guilty Sakyo must be feeling having lost his charge in the chaos earlier. “The Boss will have my hide if I don’t come back with you in one piece.” 

Sakyo nodded and quickly checked the ammunition on his pistol before he headed out. However, as he stepped forward, trying to confirm which direction he hadn’t explored yet, his eyes caught movement on the main street coming towards the ship dock. As he zeroed in on the approaching figures, he couldn’t believe his eyes. It was Izumi, being supported by another person.

“Izumi!” he cried out in disbelief, immediately breaking into a run towards them, nearly dropping his gun.

“Sakyo!” the girl called out as he finally reached them, practically collapsing into his arms with a sob.

“Thank god you’re safe,” Sakyo murmured in relief as he wrapped his arms around her small body protectively. “I’m sorry I lost you earlier.”

Breaking away, he quickly checked her over, grimacing at the bruises and scrapes that covered her body and letting out a hiss as he caught sight of her left leg—it was definitely broken. Confirming that she was more or less in one piece, he turned his attention to the boy standing beside her, also covered head to toe in grime and minor injuries.

“Thank you—she must have only made it here with your help,” Sakyo said as he carefully supported Izumi against him. “Follow me. There’s still room on our ship.”

“No!” the boy exclaimed vehemently, eyes widening as he took in Sakyo’s words. “I haven’t found my brother yet. I need to find him—I just… I couldn’t leave her when she called for help. But, now that you’ve got her, I can go look for him again.”

Sakyo felt pity slam into him. He knew how the boy felt; after all, he had also lost sight of Izumi when they had been evacuating. Regardless, he did not hesitate to grab the boy’s arm with an iron grip as the other turned to run off.

“Let go of me!” the boy snarled, trying and failing to wrench his arm free. 

“No. We’re the last ship. And we’re leaving _now_ . There’s no time left—the colony could collapse at any moment. If you don’t come with us now, you _will_ die here.” 

“NO!! I won’t leave him! Let me _go_!” the boy screamed back. He tried again to yank himself free, but the boy’s slender arm was no match for Sakyo’s muscled grip. “He-He’s waiting for me out there. He-he’s probably sc-scared and… and all alone—”

“I’m sorry about your brother, but there’s nothing that can be done… It’s too late,” Sakyo murmured softly, feeling his gut wrench as an anguished expression crossed the boy’s face. Tears began to trail down the boy’s cheeks, leaving behind winding paths of pristine skin. Sakyo could feel him shaking under his touch.

“It-It’s all my fault. I-I let go of his hand—” the boy choked out and began to sob uncontrollably as the full weight of his situation sank in. “S-Saku—I’m—I’m—sor—I’m so— ” 

Suddenly, Sakyo felt Izumi shift beside him. With one hand still holding his arm for support, she reached out her other hand and grasped one of the boy’s hands. Sakyo could almost physically see the adrenaline drain out of the boy’s body. 

Without another word, Sakyo carefully hefted Izumi onto his back, shifting to allow her to keep hold of the boy’s hand. Then, he slowly began walking back towards the dock, with the boy stumbling alongside him, crying with every step. On his shoulder, he could feel Izumi’s tears drenching his shirt.

* * *

December jolted awake as the door of the cargo craft slammed shut and crew members began yelling orders around them.

“That’s everyone! Prepare to take off!”

“Hustle! Hustle!”

“Move it ‘fore this place blows!”

His head was foggy as he glanced at the other evacuees around him. The blood from the wound on his head had stopped bleeding, but he supposed he had lost a decent amount of blood if he still felt woozy. Some of the civilians around him were asleep from exhaustion, while others looked as dazed as he felt. He could see one woman with her hands clasped in silent prayer and, behind him, he could hear a baby crying. 

As the ship lurched into movement, he watched as a trio of people entered the cargo bay, where all of the evacuees were currently gathered. A blond man was carrying a girl on his back, followed by a boy. 

The man settled the girl down on the floor near December before gently pushing the boy to sit down beside her. They didn’t seem much older than him and looked as worse for wear as he did. The girl wrapped her arms around the boy as the man briskly trotted away.

December turned his gaze down to his hands, which were fisted in his lap. He winced as he slowly unfurled his fingers, which had turned stiff from being clenched so tightly, and stared at the data chip in his hand.

Beside him, he heard the newcomer boy begin to sob quietly. 

A lump lodged itself in December’s throat as tears began to blur his vision. 

“Does your head hurt again, mister?” a voice asked from beside him. 

December turned his head and came face-to-face with a young boy, no older than ten. The child’s black hair was covered in dust, but his green eyes were clear. The boy gently touched December’s head. That’s right, the young boy and his family had saved his life. They had wrapped his wound with a spare shirt, ripped into make-shift bandages, to stop the bleeding and had helped him onto the cargo ship.

His memories of earlier that day were fuzzy. He could feel bits and pieces slip through his fingers with every throb of his head. Despite his fragmented memories, one image was vividly burned into his mind: the life slowly leaving a pale-haired man’s eyes as he struggled to say his last words, a shaking hand pressing the data chip into December’s palm. 

December winced as he felt another stab of pain from his head wound. But, that pain was nothing compared to the wrenching feeling he felt in his chest.

“Mister…?”

_August…_

“Yeah… It hurts…”

* * *

_Only in the darkest sky does a star shine the brightest._

_But the brighter the star, the hotter and faster it burns._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case the embedded image doesn't work, here's [a link to the artwork](https://www.dropbox.com/s/i9xo7i7a98xe7hr/A3%20BB_FinalEdit_100321.png?raw=1)!
> 
> I just want to take this time to thank my Big Bang artist partner (I will be crediting them after the creator reveals) for their absolutely AMAZING art for my story! Because I knew that my fic wouldn't be completed by the posting date, my partner came up with this concept art (including designing all of the uniforms!) based on the overarching plot and characters' backgrounds. I was so impressed with how much they were able to capture about my story in both the expressions of the characters' and the overall feel of their illustration! It really kept me motivated throughout the creation process! 
> 
> It was such an honour to work with this super talented artist and I just want to express my gratitude again to them for accompanying me through this project! Thank you, partner!! You're the best!!


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To kick off the start of the main story, I'd like to share with you a song that I consider the "theme song" for my fic. It's a Chinese song called "心島 (Xin Dao)" by Ayanga. You can [listen to it here](https://open.spotify.com/track/3teCaRQZswEKvWDu58RFF4?si=2bkpKKNOQCq_6GNGelZNfg)! To begin with, the melody and Ayanga's emotional singing resonated with my image of this story. In addition, the lyrics and meaning behind the song speak to breaking free of one's boundaries without fear. I don't want to say too much, but I hope that my story will eventually lead you to your own conclusions about my song choice. 
> 
> There's a translation of the song on YouTube with composer notes that I would definitely recommend checking out if you're interested in learning more about the song/lyrics! I hope you enjoy both the song and this chapter!

**_June 31, 2517  
_** **_Colony L2-2_ **

Izumi’s eyes snapped open. Even though she was lying flat on her bed and the air around her felt cool, her heart was pounding and droplets of sweat dripped down her temples. Her bedsheets were twisted and tangled between her legs, and her pillow had fallen off the bed.

Pushing herself into an upright position, she ran a hand through her sweaty hair with a sigh. She had dreamt about that day again—a day now known as the Tragedy of Colony L2-4. It had been ten years already, but it still haunted her. 

What an awful way to start the day, especially since she had work. Maybe she could just catch up on her backlogged paperwork and avoid talking to anyone. Not that anyone ever approached her anyway if they didn’t have to.

Shaking her head, she swung her legs off her bed and made her way to the washroom to clean up. As she splashed water onto her face, she could smell sizzling bacon and a slightly sweet scent—probably pancakes.

“Good morning, Mom!” Izumi greeted as cheerily as possible, pushing her bad dream out of her mind. “Need any help?” 

“Nope! I just finished! But could you set the table?”

“Of course!”

As Izumi placed the plates and cutlery on the table, she couldn’t help reflecting on how thankful she was for where she stood right now. To be able to eat breakfast with her mother, who was alive and well, every day in peace... It was a far cry from the life she had led ten years ago with her father. 

“Eat up!” her mother chirped, placing down a plate full of pancakes, eggs and bacon before Izumi. “You have work later today, right? Gotta stock up your energy!”

“I’m mostly sitting at a desk or in front of a monitor, Mom—I’m not sure what kind of energy that would use up,” Izumi replied wryfully. 

Her mother gave her a small, knowing smile and poured out a glass of juice. “Well, I know your work uses up a lot of mental energy, and your brain needs just as much nutrients as your body,” she responded.

They both knew that her mother was referring to Izumi’s ongoing struggle to be accepted at her workplace rather than the difficulty of her work. It had been just over a year since she’d started working in the space traffic control department of Colony L2-2’s spaceport, which was the longest she had held a job since she’d graduated from high school. 

After the Tragedy, she had moved to Colony L2-2 to live with her mother and started attending school. At first, it had been difficult for her to adjust to a ‘normal’ lifestyle. Up until that point of her life, she hadn’t been accustomed to interacting with other people her age or to living the life of a regular civilian. But, eventually she had managed to make some friends. Unfortunately, that soon changed when she made the mistake of revealing her powers. Her subsequent missteps got her involved in a messy incident and she ended up being treated as a social outcast by her peers. 

She never managed to shake this off even as she had stepped into adulthood and started working. Though she was a quick learner and excelled at tasks that she put her mind to, she still had difficulties fitting in with her coworkers—after all, L2-2 was a tight-knit colony, and her reputation preceded her. Everyone in the colony knew of her rare ability to sense the emotions of others—almost to the point of reading someone’s mind. No matter how hard she tried, her attempts at befriending her coworkers always ended up hitting a wall because they feared her powers. Eventually, the atmosphere at each job ended up becoming so awkward and unbearable that she inevitably ended up resigning. 

Izumi glanced down at her plate and realized that her mother had placed the eggs and bacon on her pancakes in such a way as to make a smiley face. 

“It seemed like you had a rough night,” her mother said, reaching over to thumb the dark circles under one of Izumi’s eyes. 

As she had gotten older, Izumi had learned to control her powers so that she didn’t inadvertently read other people’s emotions without their consent. However, when she was tired or let her guard down, she sometimes accidentally picked up others’ feelings. And now, still shaken from her dream, Izumi could feel a gentle warmth—separate from the physical sensation of fingers on her cheek—flow from her mother and through her body, spreading just under her skin. With a sigh, the young woman let her mother’s caring feelings envelop her, like a blanket. 

“I just had a bad dream, that’s all,” Izumi responded as she began to cut into her food.

“Do you want to talk—”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a chiming sound from their communication system, notifying them that someone was at their front door. 

“Hmm? Is it a delivery?” her mother wondered.

“It’s earlier than usual. Let me check the com system,” Izumi responded, tapping the screen of their communication system with her index finger. A view from their front door camera appeared on the screen, showing her a man she didn’t recognize. “I don’t know who it is, but I’ll go see what they need. Maybe it’s a salesman.”

Opening the door, she came face-to-face with a man with a mop of messy brown hair and glasses. His face was covered with stubble and he was dressed in a worn-out, patchy suit. Maybe she shouldn’t have answered the door, after all. Whatever this guy was selling, it was probably garbage.

“H-hello!” the man squawked loudly. “Are you Izumi Tachibana?”

“Umm, yes... How do you know who I am?” she asked suspiciously.

“Oh, thank goodness!” the man sighed before reaching into the pocket inside his jacket and pulling out an envelope.

Izumi’s eyes flickered down to the envelope. The only thing that marred the crisp white surface was her first name printed in black ink. Her breath caught in her throat—she would recognize that handwriting anywhere. 

“I’ve come with a message from your father.” 

* * *

**_July 14, 2517  
_** **_Orbit of Colony L2-2_ **

Izumi stared intently out the window of their carrier craft as it slowly made its way through the vast emptiness of space. Her stomach was in knots and, for the hundredth time that day, she wondered if she had made the right decision. 

Two weeks ago, Matsukawa had shown up on her doorstep and given her a letter from her father, Yukio Tachibana. Her father who she thought had died in the Tragedy ten years ago. It was at that moment that she had finally learned the truth: that her father had survived and gone into hiding, faking his own death to throw the government off his trail. After all, he was a wanted member of the Revolutionists and one of their chief Marionette engineers.

Apparently her mother had been the only family member to know that Yukio was actually alive, but both her parents had decided to keep it from her to avoid endangering both Yukio and herself. She still felt a bit bitter that she had been kept in the dark, but she was at least glad that he lived. Though her memories and her feelings for the man that had once been the centre of her universe, before abruptly disappearing from it, had faded in the past ten years, she couldn’t deny that she still felt… something for him. What that something was seemed to change by the hour—love, devotion, excitement, resentment, disappointment, confusion. She didn’t know how long it would take for her to sort through these emotions, but what she did know was that she wanted to see him again. If for nothing else than for closure.

Reaching into her pocket, Izumi pulled out Yukio’s letter—the pages already starting to become worn from the amount of times she had folded and unfolded it. The sensation of the sheets of paper in her hands was almost foreign to her—it was unusual in this day and age for people to actually write with paper and ink, rather relying on electronic means of communication. However, this aligned with her memories of her father; he had always preferred this more archaic way of recording his thoughts. 

Her eyes dropped down to the words scrawled across the white pages.

> _My dearest Izumi,_
> 
> _I’m sorry that, after so long, you have to hear from me in this way. I wish I could have come to see you in person, but it’s best if I lay low for the next while so as to not jeopardize our cause._
> 
> _After the Tragedy, we lost all of our progress and much of our resources—including Hakkaku’s invaluable insight. I’ve spent the last ten years building back everything from scratch. This was no easy task, but I was able to get through it all because of you, Izumi. You have always been my pride and joy. When we were still together, your faith in me and your determination to help my work, despite your young age had always inspired and pushed me to keep moving forward. To keep striving towards a future where you, your mother, and the rest of the colonies, can live in a better world._
> 
> _I know that you had to sacrifice your childhood because of me. However, know that I never took this for granted and that it was not in vain. Everything that I learned about your abilities has directly helped me develop better versions of the Actors and I have faith that they will be a key contribution to the Revolution’s success. However, an Actor can only achieve their true potential with the guidance of a great Director._
> 
> _Izumi, you have been born into this world with a unique and unprecedented ability. I redesigned the Actors with the option to make use of that ability. By utilizing this option, it will open up a different path to our end goal—one that will likely have less bloodshed._
> 
> _I will not force the responsibility of Director upon you. The choice is entirely up to you. The Revolution will proceed with or without you. However, if you do choose to follow this path, I truly believe that you can unleash the Actors’ true potential and lead the Revolutionists to victory._
> 
> _Regardless of your decision, know that I am thinking of you and your mother and that I hope to reunite with you both after this is all over._
> 
> _With love,_
> 
> _Yukio Tachibana_
> 
> _P.S. I’ve included a little present. I had hoped to give it to you long ago, but never had the chance._

Izumi sighed as she finished reading the letter—as she did every time that she read it. At first, she had been angry at the contents of the letter. Though he claimed to not be putting pressure on her, how could the words be read in any other way than to drop the weight of the colonies on her shoulders? How could her father have left her behind for so long and then suddenly thrust something like this upon her? How irresponsible and insensitive could one person be?

At first, she had wanted to rip the letter in half and forget that she had ever seen it; go back to her regular life. However, a part of her had felt relief. Relief that there was another path that had suddenly opened up before her. A path that would let her escape from the life and community that she never truly felt like she belonged in. Escape from the judging gazes, scared looks and uncomfortable silences that followed her wherever she went. This letter was the door to a new start.

So, with the convenient half-truth of ‘taking responsibility’ for her father’s actions, she had decided to give up her current life, resigned from her job, and followed Matsukawa to join the Revolutionists. She didn’t know what to expect, or if she could even live up to her father’s lofty expectations, but for the first time in years, she felt… purpose.

Her hand unconsciously reached up to her temple, where a small flower-shaped clip held her hair back. It was the gift that her father had included with his letter. She thought that it looked a bit childish—he really must have bought it long ago—but she found herself putting it on anyway. 

“Izumi, we’re here,” Matsukawa announced as he approached her seat, interrupting Izumi’s thoughts.

Outside her window, she could see that the bridge was extending from their small passenger craft to connect with a large battleship. Having worked at the spaceport, she had seen her fair share of passenger crafts, cargo ships and even the occasional battleships of the Space Colonies Defence Force. However, this was the first time she had seen a ship of this design. What she assumed was the command centre was situated in the centre of the craft, with two wings of the ship stretching out to either side, sharply curving forward into two narrower points. It looked almost like a triangle.

“Welcome to The Mankai!” Matsukawa announced as the door connecting the crossing bridge to the large battleship slid open and they stepped through. 

Taking a deep breath, Izumi braced herself and followed him. As they passed the threshold, they were immediately greeted by a gruff voice. 

“Took you long enough.”

A gruff, _familiar_ voice.

Izumi’s eyes widened as she stared at the stern-faced, blond man before her. Though his words were brusque, his bespectacled violet eyes were soft.

“Sakyo!” Izumi exclaimed in delight. Before she could control herself, she bounded forward and threw her arms around the man.

“H-Hey! Watch it!” he barked in alarm.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!” Izumi cried. “I’m so glad you’re doing well!”

“Okay, okay, I got it. Now let go—you’re not a little kid anymore, you know,” Sakyo responded, breaking free of her grasp with a sigh.

“D-Do you two know each other already?” Matsukawa asked in surprise, recovering from the shock of seeing Izumi catapult herself at Sakyo.

“Yes, I had told you that at our briefing, but you obviously weren’t listening,” Sakyo growled, shooting the other man a sharp glare.

“E-Eep!! S-Sorry, sir!” 

“Just go and let the others know that Izumi’s arrived. I’ll debrief her quickly and take her around to see everyone,” Sakyo responded with another sigh, dismissing Matsukawa with a wave of his hand.

“You got it!”

As soon as Matsukawa passed through the next door and it slid shut behind him, Sakyo returned his gaze to Izumi.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here. Not that I’m complaining—I’m glad to see a familiar face,” Izumi said. 

“About that. I’d be lying if I said that this was a coincidence,” he responded, his face settling back into a serious expression. “I volunteered myself for this position once I was told about Operation Blooming.”

“You did? Why?” Izumi asked, surprised.

“Izumi,” he started, meeting her eyes resolutely. “I don’t know why your father built this entire plan around you, especially since he knew you were just a regular civilian now. But what I did know was that you likely would feel as if you had no choice in the matter. I’m sorry that you’ve been forced into doing something you had no say in, again. The least I can do is to help provide you with the best support that I can. I wanted you to go forward with someone you could trust standing behind you.”

The sincerity and determination in his gaze sent an indescribable emotion through Izumi. It had been so long since she’d felt this way—this feeling that she wasn’t alone and that someone would share her burden. Though she had been unsure on the way here, she now felt as if she had made the right decision, no matter what happened from here on out. She straightened her back and stood as tall as she could to meet Sakyo’s gaze with just as much determination.

“I can’t say I expected this situation, nor did I ask for it. But… I decided for myself to accept this responsibility, so I will see this through to the end,” she asserted.

“Heh. You really have grown since I last saw you,” he remarked with a well-natured smirk.

“Well, it _has_ been ten years,” Izumi replied, giving him a grin of her own. “I’m not the little girl who always needs saving anymore.”

“I look forward to seeing what you’re made of, then,” Sakyo responded with a nod. “Come along then. I’ll show you to your room, where you can drop off your things, and then I’ll show you around and you can meet the rest of the crew. How much did Matsukawa explain to you?”

“Well… my dad’s letter told me about why he needed me specifically to join in on Operation Blooming, and Matsukawa went into the history of the Revolutionists and explained that we’d be part of a special operations team to overthrow the GC. He didn’t go into much detail beyond that, though.”

“Tch, of course he didn’t. Well, to begin with, I’m assuming you can tell that my being here means that the Ginsenkai is still part of the Revolution. We continue to be one of the major powers backing the Revolution in L2—and there are similar organizations providing support in the other Colony Points. There are many other moving parts to it all, but everything depends on the success of Operation Blooming. There’s no point in overwhelming you with too much information right now, so I’ll slowly bring you up to speed. For now, we just have to focus on the first step. That is, we have to assemble the rest of the required players.”

“Right… Matsukawa mentioned something about having to confirm the other team members with a compatibility test?”

“Yes. We’ll get to that later today. We’ve already done the preliminary investigation work based on the data your father had, but our agent wanted to confirm the results once you were on board—just so that we know they’re accurate since what your father had was from a decade ago.” 

* * *

“Well, it’s a good thing we did run a check with the updated biodata. This confirms that, out of the original four pilots we matched, only three of them were accurate,” a green-haired man with round glasses stated as he tapped his computer screen. Sakyo had introduced him as April, a member of a mercenary group called The Organization (and apparently it was _just_ called The Organization, Izumi had learned after inquiring about the name). He specialized in intelligence and information gathering and had been hired by the Revolutionists to assist with Operation Blooming.

A projection expanded over the meeting table, displaying several profiles with accompanying photos. April then blew up one of the profiles, displaying a photo of a young man with two-toned hair.

“Masumi Usui was originally identified as having a matching sync rate with Ms. Tachibana. However, we can see now that this is no longer the case. He won’t be able to connect with Ms. Tachibana telepathically like the others will.”

“So what will this mean?” Izumi asked.

“It means we’re short a pilot,” Sakyo said with a sigh. 

Beside Sakyo, a tall, brown-haired man with a scar on his chin tapped the table in thought. Izumi had been introduced to him earlier as Omi Fushimi, the helmsman of the Mankai and Sakyo’s second-in-command. He was also apparently their cook.

“Are there no back-ups?” Omi asked.

“It was always contemplated that this could happen, or that one of the candidates could refuse,” April answered. “This first round was based on the best case scenario, after all. We had confined our search to persons with proven fighting experience or ability. No to mention we ran background checks to confirm that they had a high likelihood of agreeing to join the Revolution in the first place. So, we’ll have to do a second search with a broader criteria to find the fourth pilot. With the updated biodata, it should be a lot faster for me to do that this time. And with less duds.”

“How long will it take?” Sakyo asked.

“Give me a couple of weeks, just in case,” April responded after taking a moment to think. 

“All right. In the meantime, we can start orientating Izumi and then make contact with our first choice candidate.”

“Just the first choice?” Izumi questioned.

“Yes. We want to bring him on by himself first so that we can test the waters and work out any kinks in the system. We’ve already decided that, if he comes on, he’ll be most suited to be the leader of the pilots both because of his age and his experience.”

April tapped another screen on his screen and a new profile expanded. 

“Tsumugi Tsukioka. Age 24. Currently resides at Colony L2-6 where he works at his family’s farm. He also works as a private tutor for some of the students in L2-6. He was formerly one of the top Marionette pilots of the Space Colonies Defence Force until he suddenly resigned three years ago.”

“The SCDF? Do we know why he resigned?” asked Omi, shocked at the description. After all, the SCDF was the armed forces of the Space Colonies Governance Council—colloquially referred to by colonists as just the ‘GC’—the current governing body of the space colonies and the Revolutionists’ adversary.

“Yes. Official records state that it was a voluntary resignation for personal family reasons,” April responded. “However, his resignation was actually part of a massive cover-up for a secret incident involving a prototype of the INVADE System.”

Izumi shivered as an odd tension blanketed the room. 

“What’s the INVADE System?” Izumi asked, the gears in her head whirring as she tried to keep up with all of the new information being thrown around.

“It’s a special operating system for Marionettes,” a soft voice spoke up.

Izumi jumped in surprise and whipped her head to look down the table at the source of the voice. She had completely forgotten about April’s companion, December. The young man, with soft, pale hair and sleepy eyes, had been so quiet she hadn’t even realized he was still in the room.

“In simple terms, it uses B-Particles to manipulate a Marionette pilots’ neurons. It only works with Bloomed individuals, but the intent of the INVADE system is to manipulate brain waves to enhance a pilot’s awareness, reflexes and abilities. It effectively turns them into a super-powered and high-efficiency fighting machine,” December continued, his monotonous voice at odds with the disturbing words he was speaking.

“And it’s one of the reasons that the Revolutionists are anxious to make their move now,” Sakyo responded. “As you know, the Revolutionists have been around for a while now. It’s been over thirty years since we’ve become an organized group, but we had only been prepared to make our move against the GC ten years ago, when the Actors had originally been close to completion. But then all of our progress on the Actors was destroyed in the Tragedy, so here we are after a decade-long set-back. We only heard from Yukio again a little less than a month ago, to be honest. In normal circumstances, we’d take our time with preparing the Actors considering we haven’t had any experience with them, but we’ve heard disturbing rumours that the SCDF has started work on the INVADE system again with much more… optimistic projections of success.”

“And we have to stop it, I guess?” Izumi asked.

“Yes, because once it’s completed, who knows if we’ll ever stand a chance of fighting back,” Omi responded grimly.


	3. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to disclaim now that I can't science and I definitely tagged this as pseudoscience for a reason! I humbly request that you suspend your disbelief and just... accept all of my kooky science, haha!

**_December 1, 2500  
_ ** **_Colony L2-4  
_ ** **_Revolutionists’ Headquarters_ **

“This is so boring,” Sakyo complained, pressing his cheek lazily onto the back of the chair he straddled, watching the older Ginsenkai members play poker. “Isn’t a job supposed to be more exciting?”

Seiji, a wiry man in his twenties, barked out a laugh at the boy’s words. “Not when you’re just an errand boy!”

“I, for one, ain’t complainin’ ‘bout an easy gig!” a grizzled older man, known as Kenichi, responded as he scrutinized the cards in his hand. “Gettin’ paid without breakin’ a sweat? Sign me up!”

“That’s just ‘cause I carried all your damn boxes, you old geezer!” Sakyo snapped in annoyance. 

Ever since he’d been taken in by the Boss of the Ginsenkai, saving him and his mother from a life of poverty on the streets, he had worked hard to be useful—afraid that he would get cast away if he didn’t prove his worth. He had scrubbed floors and ran messages for the Ginsenkai for close to a year now, and had finally been deemed trustworthy enough to be put on a  _ real _ job. But, instead of being taught to wield a weapon and getting to knock some heads together, he had been delegated to menial labour instead.

“Hey, boy, I’m just helpin’ ya build some muscles in those scrawny arms o’ yours!” 

The others in their group joined in on Kenichi’s laughter and Sakyo rolled his eyes. With a disgusted groan, he pushed himself off the chair and started for the door.

“Whatever, I’m gonna go outside.”

“Just don’t leave the property—in case the Boss needs us for anything,” Seiji replied without looking up from his hand of cards.

Without bothering to respond, Sakyo shut the door behind him and made his way towards the nearby warehouse, where the Ginsenkai had been unloading the goods they had brought with them—a batch of the latest Neo B-Reactors, fresh off of the black market, along with crates upon crates of Marionette armour parts.

He was sure he wasn’t supposed to overhear it, considering his lowly rank within the Ginsenkai, but apparently their client was the Revolutionists and they were using the reactors and armour parts for testing a new Marionette prototype. A part of him contemplated whether he could try and sneak further into the base to catch a glimpse of the prototype—he couldn’t deny that, like most boys his age, he thought Marionettes were cool and that he hoped he could pilot one for the Ginsenkai in the future—but he quickly tamped down that desire as foolish and turned to walk out the loading bay doors instead.

The December air was crisp and a fresh layer of snow—artificially generated by the colony’s weather-regulating apparatuses—coated the ground, completely unmarred. Except for a single set of footprints. Footprints that were significantly smaller than his own and likely belonged to a child. But, what would a kid be doing at the Revolutionists’ secret base?

Following the trail of footprints along the perimeter of the warehouse, he eventually turned the corner and came face-to-face with a ball careening towards his head.

“Whoa!” Sakyo yelled, bringing his hands up in front of his face out of reflex. However, the impact he expected never came. “Huh?”

Lowering his hands, he realized that the ball was hovering in the air in front of his face. Except, now that he was looking, Sakyo realized it wasn’t a ball at all, but some kind of small robot. It was round and pink, with glassy, black eyes and a… beak. Two circular flaps protruded from its sides and appeared to function like wings, allowing the robot to bob up and down in the air.

“A-A bird?”

“Excuse you! I’m not just any bird! I’m the great Kamekichi!” the robot-bird-ball squawked.

“What the hell?! You can talk?!” Sakyo exclaimed in shock.

“Darn straight, I can!”

“K-Kamekichi!” a soft, high-pitched voice suddenly interrupted. 

Sakyo’s eyes broke away from Kamekichi and finally noticed the small figure that stood several feet behind the robot. It was a young girl, half his height and with long brown hair. At the call of his name, the robot flapped over into the arms of the girl.

“U-Umm… S-sorry I almost hit you,” the girl apologized quietly, taking several wary steps back.

“Uh, it’s fine. I didn’t get hurt or anything,” Sakyo responded, flustered and confused at the sight of this little girl suddenly appearing in front of him. “What are you doing here? Are you lost?”

“I’m just playing with Kamekichi ‘cause Daddy’s talking to the scary people,” the girl replied, still making no move to come closer towards him. 

The gears in Sakyo’s head turned and clicked. She must be the daughter of one of the Revolutionists—probably a high-up if he was talking to his Boss. Even then, wasn’t it dangerous for a little kid to be running around a warehouse?

“You shouldn’t be playing around out here, though. There’s lots of trucks and big machines—you could get hurt,” Sakyo remarked, feeling like he had to take responsibility for the girl now that he’d seen her. “I can take you back inside where it’s safer while you wait for your dad.”

“Ummm, I can’t,” the girl responded. “There’s too many people inside. Daddy said I should stay away from people ‘cause it makes my head hurt.”

“Huh?” Had he heard her right? What did she mean that people made her head hurt? Like they gave her a headache? 

“But... you don’t make my head hurt! So, you can play with me!” the girl chirped, her eyes suddenly shining with excitement as a realization seemed to dawn on her.

Sakyo still didn’t understand what she was talking about, but he supposed entertaining this kid would be more interesting than watching those old farts play cards and smoke.

“Well, I guess I don’t have a choice. But only ‘cause I have some free time—I usually have important things to do, y’know.” 

* * *

**_July 23, 2517  
_ ** **_Orbit of Colony L2-6_ ** **_  
_ ** **_The Mankai_ **

“What are you looking at?” a light, melodic voice whispered suddenly in Sakyo’s ear.

“Fuck!” Sakyo swore as he jumped at the sudden feeling of someone breathing down his neck. He whipped around to glare at the unwelcome intruder. “What the hell do you think you’re doing, Yukishiro?!”

Azuma chuckled as he stepped back from Sakyo, slipping his hands into his lab coat pockets. 

“I was calling your name just now, but you didn’t answer me,” the other man responded with a shrug. “You looked like you were deep in thought.”

Sakyo sighed and turned back to look through the window in front of him again.

“I was just caught up thinking about the past, that’s all.”

“About your past with Izumi?” Azuma asked, settling beside the blond man and following his gaze. Below them was a view of the launch-bay. He could see Izumi and Matsukawa talking with Omi. He knew that they were supposed to be heading down to L2-6 today, so he assumed they were preparing for departure. 

_ So, they’re finally going to go recruit Tsumugi Tsukioka… _ Azuma thought to himself.

“Yeah… I first met her when she was just seven years old. Back then, her powers had been too much for her to handle and she wasn’t able to be around people for extended periods of time. Their emotions would overwhelm her and give her headaches. She seemed to be immune to her father, though, so she lived with him, even if it meant she was basically living out of a weapons development warehouse,” Sakyo mused. “I didn’t seem to affect her much either, so I ended up playing with her every time the Ginsenkai dropped by the Revolutionists’ headquarters.”

The bespectacled man could hardly believe that the young woman before him was the same as the girl he had met all those years ago. The last time he’d seen her was in the aftermath of the Tragedy, when he had escorted her to her mother, who had been living apart from her for years because of Izumi’s powers. He still remembered how Izumi had clung to him and begged him not to leave. While it had pained him, he had known at that time that that would be the last time he’d see her—it would have been far too dangerous for him to continue associating with civilians. A part of him still regretted letting go of her hand that day, but his heart felt more at ease now after seeing how she held herself.

It had only been just over a week since Izumi had arrived on The Mankai, but she had already made herself at home. He noted that she still hesitated when first meeting others—he supposed old habits must die hard—but, after becoming more familiar with the other crew members, she bloomed radiantly, smiling and laughing more than he’d ever seen before. 

She had also kept her word about proving her dedication to the role she had accepted. Compared to when she had used to cry from the tests she had to undergo as a child, she now resolutely threw herself into every assessment and training procedure that they presented to her without a single complaint. He had even caught her poring over manuals and reports in the mess hall late into the night. 

It had been disconcerting at first, the dissonance between his memories and the image before him in the present, but in the end, he couldn’t help but be impressed with how she had grown into such a determined and hardworking adult. He looked forward to how far she could go. 

“Heh. It’s not often I see you with such a soft look on your face,” Azuma remarked with another chuckle. “A little birdie even told me that you gave Izumi a biiiiiiig bear hug when you saw her.”

“Haaah?!” Sakyo growled, completely pulled out of his reveries. “That bumbling idiot and his big mouth. Matsukawa better sleep with one eye open tonight.”

* * *

**_July 23, 2517  
_ ** **_Colony L2-6_ **

“Your lesson today is almost up, so why don’t we go over what you learned today?” Tsumugi suggested as he noted the time on his watch. “Hopefully this chart we made helped with memorizing a bit more. Sometimes it’s easier to have a visual study aide instead of just staring at a list of words.”

“Yes, I think so,” his student, a young junior high-schooler named Aoi, responded. 

“Okay, then let’s do a quick quiz,” Tsumugi said with a nod, flipping through his notes. “First question: When and how was blossonium discovered?”

“Ummm, in twenty-one-seventy… uh…. two?”

“Close. Seventy-one.”

“Right! In 2171, a researcher from Earth named Dr. Diana Blossom discovered a radioactive metal similar to uranium in Jupiter’s asteroid belt. They ended up naming it blossonium, after Dr. Blossom.”

“That’s correct,” Tsumugi responded with a nod. “Can you describe two properties of blossonium?”

“Raw blossonium is highly radioactive, so it can cause radiation poisoning. But, it’s other property is that it can be used as a reactant to create a nuclear fusion reaction that can be used as an energy source. And when that happens, it ceases to emit radiation,” Aoi responded. 

“Good job! I know I only asked for two, but can you give a third property?”

“Ummm... is it that it emits B-Particles?” Aoi asked after giving it some thought.

“Yes, that’s right. A third property of blossonium is that its nuclear fusion reaction produces a byproduct known as Blossom Particles, more often abbreviated as B-Particles. Can you explain what these B-Particles are and what effect they have?”

“Right, they’re basically an emission of electromagnetic waves, right? They interfere with a lot of electronics, so electromagnetic shielding is required when using blossonium as a nuclear reactor to power things,” Aoi responded. 

“And what else?” Tsumugi prompted.

“Oh right, how could I forget!” Aoi exclaimed, snapping his fingers. “While studies have shown that human exposure to B-Particles doesn’t have any negative side effects, compared to exposure to raw blossonium, long term exposure over the centuries has caused mutations in the human DNA. So, now there are some people who have what’s called a Bloom Gene.”

“Correct again! You did great!” Tsumugi replied with a smile. “Looks like your self-studying has paid off!” 

“Thanks, Mr. Tsukioka! It’s just that your teaching is more interesting than my real teacher, so i think it’s easier to remember stuff,” Aoi responded with a big smile of his own. “Plus, these charts you helped me make are fun to use, so it’s easier to study. I’ve never tried using paper and pens to do stuff before!”

“Well, I’m glad that they helped! I just wanted to show you that there’s more than one way to make study notes—even if it’s a bit old-fashioned,” said Tsumugi as he began to gather his materials. “Sometimes physically touching things helps jog your memory.” 

“By the way, Mr. Tsukioka? You have the Bloom Gene, right?” Aoi asked, staring at him with curious, wide eyes. “Sorry, my mom said it’s rude to ask ‘bout it, but I always wondered what it’s like, since no one in my family is Bloomed and neither are my friends.”

Tsumugi hummed to himself in thought as he packed his items into his bag. “Well, we’re not much different than anyone else. Just that we’re usually more athletic or have stronger constitutions. Sometimes Bloomed individuals have greater spatial awareness or quicker reflexes. It varies from person to person, but I wouldn’t say we’re anything too special.”

“Oooh, that makes. You seem pretty normal to me, Mr. Tsukioka! Not that that’s a bad thing! You’re like super normal in a cool way!” Aoi said.

The blue-haired tutor laughed and ruffled Aoi’s hair. “Thanks—I’ll take that as a compliment. All right, I better get going, though. See you next week, Aoi.”

“Bye, Mr. Tsukioka!”

Giving his tutee another wave goodbye, Tsumugi let himself out of Aoi’s house and slowly made his way back home. As he walked to the bus stop, he heard a familiar sound above him. Glancing up at the sky, Tsumugi could make out several humanoid-looking robots flying through the air. It was Marionette flight practice. He had forgotten that Aoi’s house was close to one of the SCDF bases on L2-6. 

_ Ah… That’s Formation A3… Itaru usually likes to use a trick on that one to get ahead of everyone else so he can always get the first attack in. Tasuku would always lecture him about ruining his thrusters when he did that—  _

Tsumugi blinked and shook his head as he realized what he was doing. He frowned as his stomach clenched uncomfortably. It had been three years and he still hadn’t learned to forget about piloting or moved on from his past. 

What was he even doing? 

* * *

“I’m home!” Tsumugi hollered as he stepped through the front door. Before he could even take off his shoes, his grandmother popped out into the entryway.

“Oh! Tsumu! Some people were at the shop earlier looking for you. I didn’t recognize them though—I don’t think they’re from around here,” his grandmother said with a quizzical look on her face. “They said they’d stick around the store and wait for you to get back, so you should go over. They’ve probably waited for about half an hour now.”

“Huh… I wonder who they are? I’m not expecting any visitors,” Tsumugi mused, his brows furrowing. Maybe it was because of his odd mood from earlier, but he was suddenly filled with trepidation. “Okay, I’ll head over and see what they need. I’ll be back later, then.”

Leaving his work bag behind, Tsumugi opened the front door again and briskly jogged down the road towards their family’s store, where they sold flowers from their fields and greenhouses. Soon, the store came into sight and he spotted two strangers settled on a bench outside their storefront. His grandmother was right; he’d never seen these two before.

At the sound of his approach, the man and woman on the bench looked up from what looked like a heated conversation and quickly composed themselves before standing up to greet him.

“Hello there, I’m Tsumugi Tsukioka,” Tsumugi introduced himself as he came to a stop. They looked harmless enough, but he still couldn’t shake his sudden uneasy feeling. “I heard you were looking for me?”

“It’s nice to meet you as well! My name is Izumi, and this is Matsukawa,” the brown-haired woman responded with a bow before gesturing to the curly-haired man beside her. Tsumugi thought that she looked a bit fidgety. Not that he could blame her—he was feeling a bit off as well. It was like an odd sensation prickling down his spine, and a tickling in the back of his head. Was it the heat? It was midday, after all. 

“Mr. Tsukioka, this is going to sound sudden, but we’re here to talk to you about a job offer,” Matsukawa spoke up. “Is there anywhere we can speak in private?”

“A job? Are you looking for a private tutor?” he asked in surprise. Perhaps one of his students had referred them to him. 

“Uhhh, well… kind of… _technically_ , teaching would sort of be part of your job description?” Matsukawa responded, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “If you squint and turn your head sideways, maybe?”

“Stop it, Matsukawa—you’re gonna confuse him!” Izumi snapped, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow.

“Errr, well, why don’t you come inside then? The shop’s closed for lunch, so we can talk without interruption,” Tsumugi responded as he unlocked the door and led them inside.

Clearing one of their wrapping tables, Tsumugi pulled out a couple of stools for the three of them. When they were finally settled, he turned his full attention to Izumi and Matsukawa. 

“Right… So, about that job offer…?”

“Yes, umm… We’d like to recruit you... to be a Marionette pilot,” Izumi started. Tsumugi blinked. “For the Revolutionists.”

Tsumugi blinked again. He was sure he had misheard them just now. His head must still be filled with thoughts of those Marionette practice drills from earlier and that’s why he’d heard them wrong.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

“We’re part of the Revolutionists,” Matsukawa said. “We’re looking to recruit skilled Marionette pilots and you’re on the top of our list. We’ve heard that you were one of the best pilots before you, uh, retired.”

For a second, Tsumugi considered pinching himself. What kind of bizarre dream was this?

“You must be joking, right? If you know I used to be a pilot, you must know that I was a pilot for the SCDF. I  _ fought _ the Revolutionists. You’re trying to recruit the enemy?” Tsumugi questioned, still unable to really grasp this bizarre situation he’d found himself in. 

“But, you’re not part of the SCDF anymore, so you’re not technically an enemy,” Izumi insisted. “I know this sounds crazy, but we’re completely serious. We’ve risked our identities to come speak with you because we absolutely need you to join us for our cause to succeed. There’s certain qualifications we’re looking for in a pilot that only you have.”

“I haven’t piloted for three years, what possible qualifications could I have?” Tsumugi asked quizzically. Maybe this was one of those hidden camera shows.

“Ummm, unfortunately, we can’t disclose that to you unless you agree to join us. It’s confidential,” Matsukawa answered. “All we can say is that your Bloom abilities are of high importance to us. Please, you have to believe us!”

A silence fell over them as Izumi and Matsukawa stared at him earnestly. Tsumugi liked to think that he was a good judge of character—and Izumi and Matuskawa didn’t seem like they were lying. His immediate impression of them was that they were good people. Yet… why would the Revolutionists want  _ him _ ? 

“And, what if I refuse? You’re not afraid that I’ll report you to the SCDF the second you turn around?” Tsumugi asked, trying to feel them out more. “I used to be an officer—what makes you think I’d want to join the Revolutionists?” 

“Well, we only approached you because we were fairly certain that you  _ wouldn’t _ report us, actually…” Izumi replied with a nervous chuckle. “But, even if you did, we’re quite confident in our escape plan!”

Tsumugi choked back a laugh and hid it behind a cough. His impression was definitely right about Izumi. With an open face like that, there was no way she was a schemer. 

“And, anyway, considering that awful incident that got you discharged from the SCDF, we were pretty sure that you wouldn’t—” Matsukawa added.

“Matsukawa—!” Izumi yelped, trying to cut the other man off. 

“What did you just say?” Tsumugi asked, feeling the blood freeze in his veins. How did they know about that? It was a top military secret that no one outside of those involved should know about. Unless… they really were Revolutionists. Revolutionists that had much more intelligence gathering capabilities than he had thought they would.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Tsukioka,” Izumi apologized, lowering her head to touch the table. “We overstepped our bounds. We know it must not be a pleasant memory for you and we didn’t mean to bring it up.”

“Y-Yes, I apologize! I didn’t mean to be insensitive,” Matsukawa squawked, also lowering his head. Then, the bespectacled man glanced at Izumi, silently asking her a question. The young woman frowned, but eventually gave a small nod. Turning back towards Tsumugi, Matsukawa continued, “One of the reasons we were hoping you would agree to join our cause is that we plan to move against the GC soon. We have reason to believe that they are about to finalize the INVADE System, and we need to strike against them before that happens.”

For a second, Tsumugi forgot how to breathe.  _ The INVADE System…?  _

“I-Impossible… That project should have been shut down after what happened,” Tsumugi murmured, suddenly feeling sick to his stomach. 

“Our sources are certainly accurate on this,” Matsukawa responded gravely. “And we absolutely need your help to fight back against it. Please! We need you!”

Was it true? Were they really trying to continue development on that cursed system? He wanted to throw up just thinking about it.

“Are you okay, Mr. Tsukioka?” Izumi asked gently. “You don’t look well.”

“I-I’m fine… I just… I need some time to think about this,” Tsumugi replied weakly, his head spinning with their sudden revelation. 

“We understand. If it’s alright with you, we can come back tomorrow?” Izumi responded. 

“Y-Yes, I think that would be best.”

“Thank you for your time, Mr. Tsukioka. We can show ourselves out,” said Matsukawa.

Tsumugi closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he listened to the sound of their stools scrape against the floor and their footsteps retreating. However, a moment later, he heard one set of feet pattering back towards him.

Looking up, he saw Izumi holding a cup of water from the dispenser they left near the door for their customers.

“Here, please drink this—you look pale,” Izumi said, placing the paper cup in front of him.

“Th-thank you,” Tsumugi stammered in surprise. As he reached to grasp the cup, his fingers brushed against hers and he felt a shiver down his spine.

Izumi pulled her hand back in surprise. 

“U-Umm—I’ll see you tomorrow,” she squeaked, quickly ducking her head in a quick goodbye before speeding out of the shop, the bell over the door signalling her departure. 

As the echo of the bell faded away, a sudden realization dawned on Tsumugi. Izumi was Bloomed, too. It had been so long since he’d met another Bloomed individual that he’d forgotten the sensation that Bloomed persons felt when they were near each other—like an awareness of the other, similar to the feeling of goosebumps. 

Yet… what he felt earlier when he met Izumi was different than what he remembered. It felt… stronger. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who have knowledge of the Gundam series... Yes, Kamekichi is indeed a Haro knockoff, hahaha. Not!Haro-Kamekichi basically looks like a robotic version of a Kamebun/Kamebox gacha!! 
> 
> Anyway, this is where I'll be ending things off as part of the Big Bang event itself. I had hoped to get further along by the posting date... unfortunately, life was not cooperating with me! But, thank you for checking out my fic so far! I look forward to continuing this story and hope that you will continue to accompany me on this journey!


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